The Orient

My oh my australia seems a long time ago. When i left you i was in Port Macqaurie I believe (excuse me if I am wrong..the chinese government has blocked blogs so i can upload but not view). Port Mac was a cool place..very relaxed. We spent our time looking at the stars from a planetarium (with some hilarious old people), eating cheap pizza, seeing the cutest little koalas ever and meeting some really cool people such as Dan from Venezuela, Martin from Munich and Rob the Robot from Holland. As i cannot remember where i left you i'll leave it at that.
We left Port (as it is known) for Byron Bay with Rob. Byron was definately something to behold. When we arrived we were whisked to out 'world famous' hostel called the Arts Factory. It is huge. Swimming pool, jacuzzi, table tennis, volleyball- basically a backpackers resort. I was a bit scared by all the people at first..but we got used to it. lots of the lovelies from the previous hostel were there which was great. It felt like a proper HOLIDAY!

On our first morning we were woken by the pleasant sounds of a yorkshire accent- John and Stacey who were stuck with us for the next week- had arrived and we hit it off straight away. So me, Alice, John and Stacey made the very best of the nest few days. Swimming, sunbathing, chips and a rather arduous but rewarding walk to the most Eastern poin of Oz made the time fly by- as did the goon and my fave an amazing hippy market. It was huge and had all sorts of tree huggers, vegans, bohemians and lots of others buying hemp dresses and recycled paper..my cuppa tea really.

Half way through our stay we were glad to have Rufus join us. We thought it fitting to go and visit Nimbin..a hippu mecca and marjuana farm..It was amazing. Not least our bus driver..dreadlocked and listening to Hendrix, the stones, pink floyd..and he didn't crash..not once. It was a great journey! We returned..slightly hazy and failed miserably at the quiz. But coincidence of coincedences we bumped into rachael and pippa who i met in Peru! Very nice surprise! And then..suddenly..it was time to leave Byron..time had gone far far too quick but we were nicely relaxed. After a sad Adieu to Rufus me, Al and John and Stace headed North to Surfers.

Surfers Paradise may have been fitting as a name..we know not..it rained and we didn't see the beach. Instead we got very cold in the pool then hot in the spa..then drunk in the kitchen..were amazed by johns card tricks...then drunk in the hall..and it was the next day. We were off to Wet n' Wild a huge and scary water park which was deserted because of the rain. Perfect! We rode some scary rides..such as Twister, tornado and black hole and screamed our lungs out to an appropriate level. It was a wicked day...they even had hot tubs.

Me and Alice moved on to Brisbane the next day and saw Shrek 2 which was well good! On June 9th we went..after years of dreaming..to Australia Zoo..formely Steve Irwins playground. It was pretty heavy on the Steve material..bit like Chavez in Venezuela..but so good. We saw crocs in the Crocoseum (pictured) otters, elephants, tigers and even stroked Koalas and fes 'roos. On the bus on the way back we even saw the video of Steve's memorial service..pretty awkward as i think the driver was in tears. Russel Crowe made an arse of himself when saying goodbye so that was good. It was definately the most exciting zoo ever. That night me and Alice had a final dinner and said a sad farewell to each other as the next day i was back down to Sydney then off to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong really hit me hard as soon as i stepped out. It was boiling hot and about 200% humidity. After my initial dizzziness i hopped on a bus and went to Chongking Mansions, a dangerously old building in Kowloon famous for people who cannot afford anywhere safe, and met Max and Benjie. Hugs all round and catching up till late looking over the beautiful harbour made getting up at half 8 the next morning and going to the Russian embassy a bit of a trek..the views on the boat however made it worthwhile. My half a day in Hong Kong passed pretty quick and included an amazing lunch in a veggie cafe on one of the islands. Yummy. That evening we caught the train to China..

We arrived in a City called Guangzou or something similar and found, after lots of looking, a lovely hostel for about a quid or 2 a night. It was financial heaven after Australia! The next morning we had a little time before our 26hr journey to Kunming and i went for a walk and saw the crazy morning excersises pictured- bit spooky really.

The train journey flew by really. Lots of catching up to do and cards to play and best of all an amazing view into rural china all the way. Oh and a comfy bed. Could i ask for more. When we arrived in Kunming we checked into our Hostel and stumbled right next door into a rather fabulous cake shop..where we bought a MASSIVELY decadent cake for 2 pounds and rather glutinously stormed through it. We then went next door to the nude baths which was relaxing and max and Benjie got beaten to within an inch of their lives (massaged). It was a rather pleasant afternoon.

Of course the next day we had to move on. We spent the morning wandering through the busy streets, getting used to China, and getting lost. By this time we were quite familiar to Chinese food..my fave definately Aubergine..but there is so much good stuff really. That night we took a night bus, with tiny little beds, to Lijang in Western Yunnan.

Lijang is a truly beautiful town. Although rather run over by chinese tourists it was so pretty. Canals ran alongside cobbled lanes, there was great food, lots of places to sit and read and just a very relaxed atmosphere that china has quite little of. We only stayed the one night because the next day we were off to Tiger Leaping Gorge.

The walk along the Gorge was well..gorgeous. We walked with a couple of lovely French girls called Cynthia and Raph and we tried hard and failed well to speak french to them. We got a bit better though..maybe. The walk was qyute tough on the first day and we climbed really high over the gorge begore we finally reached our picturesque guesthouse. It looked right over the valley and we ate some great dinner and played some rather difficult bi-lingual drinking games with the French, canadian and Hong Konger that we met. The next day was easier and all downhill and we were joined all the way by an adorable puppy who needed to be carried at times because it was too steep. SO CUTE.

Must hurry now..the internet owners are getting restless!
After one more night in Lijang me and max, unfortunately Benj wasn' too well and didn't fancy the trek, embarked on a 4 day mammoth bus ride accross the tibetan hills, not actually tibet on buses that broke regularly and were full of spit. The experience and views were unforgettable: We met a lovely chinese girls at a restaurant who was so nervous to speak english that she was shaking. We stayed in an amazing Tibetan guesthouse with templelike pictures on the wall. It was just superb to go through the wilderness of Tibet, on dangerous roads with local people an Yaks all over the place. There is simply too much to say and a week has passed since then. I will update again soon.
Thanks for reading.
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